[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 9]
[House]
[Pages 12483-12485]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              SUPPORTING DESIGNATION OF NATIONAL ESIGN DAY

  Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to 
the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 290) expressing support for 
designation of June 30 as ``National ESIGN Day''.
  The Clerk read the title of the concurrent resolution.
  The text of the concurrent resolution is as follows:

                            H. Con. Res. 290

       Whereas the Electronic Signatures in Global and National 
     Commerce Act (ESIGN) was enacted on June 30, 2000, to ensure 
     that a signature, contract, or other record relating to a 
     transaction may not be denied legal effect, validity, or 
     enforceability solely because it is in electronic form;
       Whereas Congress directed the Secretary of Commerce to take 
     all actions necessary to eliminate or reduce, to the maximum 
     extent possible, the impediments to commerce in electronic 
     signatures, for the purpose of facilitating the development 
     of interstate and foreign commerce; and
       Whereas June 30, 2010, marks the 10th anniversary of the 
     enactment of ESIGN and would be an appropriate date to 
     designate as ``National ESIGN Day'': Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
     concurring), That Congress--

[[Page 12484]]

       (1) supports the designation of a ``National ESIGN Day'';
       (2) recognizes the previous contribution made by Congress 
     to the adoption of modern solutions that keep the United 
     States on the leading technological edge; and
       (3) reaffirms its commitment to facilitating interstate and 
     foreign commerce in an increasingly digital world.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Washington (Mr. McDermott) and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. 
Shimkus) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Washington.


                             General Leave

  Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks 
and include extraneous material in the Record.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Washington?
  There was no objection.

                              {time}  2050

  Mr. McDERMOTT. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the 
signing of the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce 
Act, the ESIGN bill, a landmark piece of legislation that has 
transformed how we conduct interstate commerce and business. The advent 
of e-signatures has brought enormous benefit to both consumers and 
businesses alike by drastically improving convenience, reducing costs, 
and increasing the speed of transactions.
  As many of you know, I represent Seattle, which is one of the most 
wired and high-tech cities in the world. ESIGN has greatly improved the 
ability of companies in my district to be more effective and 
competitive in the global marketplace.
  I would especially like to acknowledge Seattle-based electronic 
signature platform provider DocuSign for being a leader in the 
electronic signatures and records industry and for helping spearhead 
the coalition to recognize June 30 as National ESIGN Day.
  DocuSign recognizes that the benefits of e-commerce extend beyond the 
dollar values that are placed on business activity. With over 30,000 
current customers and having served over 4.5 million people to date, 
DocuSign provides its customers with confidence in the integrity and 
credibility of emerging electronic capabilities. They have been a 
leader in removing obstacles and barriers to business transactions 
online and in allowing their customers to work faster, more reliably, 
and more securely.
  It is important we recognize the foresight and vision of those who 
worked so hard to pass ESIGN 10 years ago, including Congresswoman Anna 
Eshoo and Congressman Jay Inslee. The passage of that bill has helped 
more American companies to operate globally, and it has helped to 
increase productivity and efficiency for consumers, businesses, and 
governments.
  When President Clinton signed the bill into law in June 2000, he 
said, ``Just imagine if this had existed 224 years ago. The Founding 
Fathers wouldn't have had to come all the way to Philadelphia on July 4 
for the Declaration of Independence. They could have emailed their John 
Hancocks in.''
  Now, 10 years later, that is what businesses and governments in every 
corner of the globe are able to do--instantly complete transactions 
that used to take days.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SHIMKUS. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  It is great to be down here with my colleague Mr. McDermott. Usually, 
I don't like resolutions, you know, but he approached me on the floor. 
This is a really important one, and I think it is important to go back 
over the history of what we did 10 years ago.
  Mr. Speaker, everything was paper. You had to have paper copies. You 
couldn't do bank transactions. You couldn't do certifications. You 
couldn't do business documentation.
  My colleague mentioned Anna Eshoo, who is a great friend of mine on 
the committee. Jay Inslee is also a great friend of mine on the 
committee. I serve on the Energy and Commerce Committee. I've been on 
the Telecommunications Subcommittee. I think credit goes to Chairman 
Bliley, and I think credit goes to Billy Tauzin. The great thing about 
Energy and Commerce is a lot of the issues that we address cut across 
partisan lines, especially on the Technology Subcommittee.
  So the signing of this bill really helped, as my colleague said, and 
it really changed the way we can conduct business in the new digital 
age. It is really a great credit, and it does merit taking the time to 
think back on those folks who pushed for this, in a bipartisan 
resolution and through both Chambers, in order to get the bill signed 
into law.
  I am sure there was opposition by Members in both parties. In fact, I 
know one famous Democrat on the committee who wasn't an original 
supporter of this. So the fact that Chairman Bliley and Billy Tauzin, 
as the chairmen of the subcommittee and the full committee, were all 
engaged in support shows what we can do when we work together.
  The Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act, ESIGN, 
represents a critical step in harmonizing the world's global commerce 
and contract law with a modern electronic and increasingly Internet-
dependent world. This happened during the 106th Congress. It was my 
second Congress. I came in during the 105th.
  I think the other important information is with other digital e-
commerce issues that we are approaching and discussing. We are 
discussing one in the committee now, which is the 21st century access 
to disabilities, which is trying to make sure that the digital age 
doesn't leave the disability community behind.
  So the question that we faced in the committee today was: How much do 
we make sure that we set the standards but that we don't dictate 
technology? Because, if we dictate technology, we disincentivize the 
folks who are the smarts behind this new age.
  What we did on ESIGN was to say, Here are the standards. You smart 
people figure it out. Make sure that privacy is protected. Make sure 
that you can continue to keep data if people want hard copies. The 
other thing we allowed was for the consumers to choose. If people 
wanted to try this new venue, it was pretty scary. Can you imagine 
going on the Internet 10 years ago and saying, ``I'm going to buy a 
pair of tennis shoes, and I'm going to put my credit card number on the 
computer, and they're going to mail me this stuff, and it's all going 
to work out''? It was pretty scary. People do it all the time now, but 
you know what? If you want to go down to the store and pay cash for 
those shoes, you can still do it.
  So the benefit of what we did was to say let the consumers choose. 
Also, the benefit of what we did was to say give the business community 
the standards. Don't try to squeeze them into a one-size-fits-all 
method. Let the great innovative minds--many of them are in my 
colleague's State of Washington State--really make this stuff work.
  I've been on the Energy and Commerce Committee for, fortunately, my 
14 years in Congress, and I've been on the Telecommunications 
Subcommittee. I should be an expert. I still don't understand it. I 
still don't understand how it all works, but I know that there are 
smart enough people who can make it work, and this is a perfect 
example. This 10-year anniversary, in essence, is a tremendous success 
story. I have a 17-year-old, a 15-year-old and a 10-year-old. They are 
growing up in an age where they don't know any other way of doing 
transactions and of doing business than what we did 10 years ago.
  Jim, I appreciate your effort. I appreciate your coming to me on the 
floor. Like I said, I'm not a big resolution guy, but I thought this 
was one worthy of sitting back and of focusing on what we did in the 
hopes, as we move forward on other high-tech issues, that we will set 
the guidelines but that we will let the really smart innovators figure 
out how it can be done.

[[Page 12485]]

  Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back 
the balance of my time.
  Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, today marks the 10th anniversary of the 
enactment of the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce 
Act. I rise in support of designating today as ``National ESIGN Day'' 
and commend Mr. McDermott for bringing this resolution to the Floor.
  Ten years ago the thought of filing your taxes electronically, 
renewing your drivers license, and filling out a mortgage application 
on your computer was one that many feared. There was uncertainty about 
the security of the transaction and how to verify who was on each end 
of the keyboard. We recognized then that we needed rules of the road 
that would guide us into the information society. We needed to create 
trust in this emerging technology called the ``internet'' if it was 
going to grow into what we hoped would be at least a new and efficient 
way to do business electronically in both the public and private 
sector.
  We stood at a crossroads ten years ago. We needed to eliminate 
obsolete barriers to electronic commerce such as undue pen and paper 
requirements and other practices that slowed down innovation. In March 
of 1999 I introduced the H.R. 1320, the Millennium Digital Commerce Act 
because I recognized that the growth of electronic commerce and 
electronic government transactions represented a powerful force for 
economic growth, consumer choice, improved civic participation, and 
wealth creation.
  Less than a year later, in January of 2000, the Electronic Signatures 
in Global and National Commerce Act was signed into law.
  As the information and innovation society is now fully integrated 
into almost every aspect of our lives, we stand here today to look back 
over the last ten years. Electronic commerce is now the driving force 
of our global economy. The level of confidence in the internet and the 
innovative tools it has created continues to grow. As we stood at that 
intersection ten years ago, we took our country and our consumers in 
the right direction.
  I urge all of my colleagues to support H. Con. Res. 290 designating 
June 30th as ``National ESIGN Day.''
  Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and 
I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Washington (Mr. McDermott) that the House suspend the 
rules and agree to the concurrent resolution, H. Con. Res. 290.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a 
quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not 
present.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.
  The point of no quorum is considered withdrawn.

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